CVR, Controller Tapes Indicate All Was Normal Until The End

There was no indication of trouble from the cockpit of a Gulfstream G-III before it went down in low IMC on approach to Houston Hobby, according to the NTSB. Radar tracks, along with analysis of the CVR and controller tapes, show the bizjet descended normally -- until controllers noticed that the aircraft was flying too low.

"Gulfstream eight five victor tango, check your altitude, altitude indicates 400 feet," the controller said.

The crew aboard the G-III, on their way to pick up former President George HW Bush for a trip to South America, never responded. Approximately two minutes later, their aircraft had clipped a light pole on the Sam Houston Tollway and crashed, about three miles short of the runway at around 0615 on November 22nd.

Under normal IFR procedures, the aircraft would have been at approximately 1,500 feet five miles from the runway. That's about where the G-III was when it got the altitude warning from the tower.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the NTSB investigation will continue to center on flight ops, the ILS, cockpit instruments and maintenance logs.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov